Information is crucial in this modern era and the internet has made the spread of information even faster, including an urban legend that is now a hot topic of conversation even in the mainstream media.
The Gilgamesh dream.
It's a phenomenon where random people around the world have dreams that have the same pattern.
They meet a man who refers to himself as Gilgamesh, there are different variants of each dream but they all give the same message.
[ Those who are chosen, prepare to be my subordinates. Those who are not chosen, prepare to be my slaves. ]
The message was clear that a man named Gilgamesh would come and create a new world order.
Although at first it sounded ridiculous and many experts and scholars said it was just a coincidence.
However, more and more people are having the same dream every day and it is certainly causing debate among scientists.
Gilgamesh dream has become one of the strangest and most pervasive urban legends in the world, including the small town in South Africa, Howick.
"How do you feel, mom?" Asked Mholi who was sitting in front of his mother's bed.
The teenage boy had already on his school uniform, a white shirt with a green tie and grayish pants. But even so, he was still pensive while staring at his mother who lay sick.
Mholi's mother, who seemed to be struggling to breathe, now glanced at the teenage boy.
"I'm okay, go to school."
Although it was hard, the boy finally stood up and prepared to walk to the school. But before that, Mholi went to the kitchen and grab a plate of porridge and a kettle of water with a glass to put on the small table right next to his mother's bed, so that at least he wouldn't have to worry too much if his mother got hungry or thirsty later.
After he finished taking care of his mother, Mholi rushed out of the house.
Mholi's house was not very big, just a simple house made of bricks that had not even been completely covered by cement, revealing some parts of the walls made of earthy red bricks.
The fence of his house was not like a luxurious fence, the fence of his house was just iron wires stretched from end to end.
His house didn't even have a gate, just an empty space connecting the green grass-covered yard and a smooth black asphalt road.
As usual, Mholi walked to the school. It wasn't a bad thing that his house wasn't that far from the school.
On the way, he met other students who were also walking to the same school that Mholi was going to and once again, he listened to them chatting about Gilgamesh dream.
The students seemed excited while Mholi seemed bored with it.
Mholi arrived at school, a simple school that had 2 main buildings. One building had only 2 floors and the other had 3 floors. The school also did not have fancy fences made of cement, but a stretch of iron wires separating the school area and the street.
Mholi walked straight to his class and this time the talk of Gilgamesh dream became a very popular topic in his class.
The teenage boy sat at the back and stared pensively at Noluvo's empty seat.
It had been several days since Noluvo had been absent from school and no one knew why, not even the teachers.
"Are you worried about her?" asked the bald-headed teenage boy sitting on the chair right next to Mholi.
"I guess so, I just don't know why she's suddenly absent from school," replied Mholi who was quick to answer Muzi's question.
Muzi looked at Noluvo's empty seat and then glanced at Mholi who looked glumy. "I apologize for calling her a witch the other day."
"It's okay, I was too spontaneous that day also," replied Mholi whose gaze did not turn away from Noluvo's seat.
"Hey, Mholi, how about we visit Nolu after school?"
"Do you know her house?"
"No, but we can ask the teachers. They definitely know where her house is, right ?So? How did it go? Want to go visit her?"
For a moment Mholi was excited by his friend's idea, but then he quickly realized one thing. "Sorry, Muzi, I can't, I have to go home soon and take care of my mom," said a glum Mholi.
"Is your mother still sick?"
"Sort of."
Muzi was silent for a moment. He wanted to say something but he doubted if his sentence was a good thing to say, but even so, curiosity kept bursting out of his chest and he felt he had to say it even if it was risky.
Muzi took a deep breath and prepared to open his mouth. "It's just my guess but..."
Muzi became rather nervous as Mholi's attention was drawn to him.
"What, Muzi?"
"When your mom got sick, Noluvo didn't go to school that day. So..."
Mholi narrowed his eyes and raised his voice slightly. "Are you saying that Nolu bewitched my mother?"
Muzi looked away from Mholi rather nervously. "I... Didn't say that... I'm just saying those two incidents were too..."
"Muzi! I told you, Nolu is not a witch! It was just a coincidence," Mholi insisted, making Muzi take a step back.
"No, of course not," said Muzi who tried to calm Mholi down while putting on a forced awkward smile. "You're right, it's definitely just a coincidence. Sorry, I didn't mean to say that."
Muzi managed to persuade Mholi and things became calmer.
School activities are proceeding as usual, with the normal teaching and learning process taking place at school.
After school, Muzi plans to stay at Mholi's house because his parents are out of town that day and he is home alone.
Mholi didn't mind because he also gets some extra help in caring for his mother, who is still sick.
After finishing their schoolwork and taking care of Mholi's mother, and other things, the two decided to play cards with the loser having to drink a glass of water each time they lose.
It was a fun time, though eventually in the end they had to go to sleep.
Muzi slept in Mholi's simple room. Since Mholi only had one small mattress, Muzi had no choice but to sleep on the carpet.
"Muzi, I'm sorry, my mattress isn't big enough for both of us," said Mholi, sitting on his mattress.
"No need to worry about it, I'm the one who decided to visit unexpectedly. Can you at least give me a pillow?" Muzi got ready for bed and took the pillow Mholi gave him.
The lights were turned off and they both closed their eyes. Both of them slept peacefully on that quiet night.
The night passed peacefully in the town of Howick as everyone slept. There were no loud, disturbing noises at midnight, unlike in big cities such as Durban.
It was just a quiet night...
Nothing unusual happened...
At least for now....
The clock showed 5:00 a.m.in the morning. Mholi and Muzi suddenly woke up for the same reason.
"Mholi, you too?" asked Muzi, trying to stay awake.
Mholi looked at his friend, though he was a bit sleepy. "Playing cards with drinking water as stakes was a bad idea."
"Where's the toilet?"
Mholi stood up from his bed, his eyes struggling to open. "We're in the same boat, I need to pee too. Just follow me."
The two went to the toilet and urinated because of their own foolish game.
Their bladders were relieved after releasing all the excess fluid, and the two returned to Mholi's room.
However, as they walked toward the room, Mholi suddenly realized something he hadn't noticed before because his mind was only focused on peeing.
"Muzi, I feel something strange in the living room," said Mholi, whispering in the darkness.
Only the bathroom lights were on at that moment, making the situation a bit creepy.
When he heard his friend's words, Muzi suddenly felt a chill as he stared into the dark living room.
Muzi swallowed hard and chuckled awkwardly. "Mholi, it's probably just your imagination—"
"Shhh... Don't make any noise, follow me," whispered Mholi, which made Muzi even more frightened.
Very carefully and walking very slowly, Mholi moved toward the dark living room with great caution.
When he arrived in the living room, he saw a figure standing there. The figure seemed to be doing something, but he couldn't tell because of the lack of lighting.
When he reached the light switch, Mholi immediately turned on the living room light, and the first thing he saw was the back of a girl who had just finished putting on her pants.
The girl wasn't wearing a shirt, or perhaps more accurately, she hadn't put on a shirt yet because Mholi saw one shirt on the floor.
Mholi was frozen in place and as the girl turned around, he was surprised to see a face he recognized.
It was Noluvo who was now covering her chest with both hands with an equally shocked and embarrassed expression.
Muzi stepped forward while whispering. "Hey Mholi, why are you -"
The bald-headed teenager immediately fell silent with both eyes widened.
Noluvo immediately turned away, too embarrassed and scared to look at Mholi's face.
A naked woman in someone else's house...
For a moment, everyone must have thought it was just an ordinary indecent act, but unfortunately it was identical to the ritual that witches perform when casting their magic spells.
Muzi, who was initially silent, suddenly shouted while running outside the house.
"Witch! Igqwirha! There's an igqwirha!" shouted Muzi who ran frantically.
Meanwhile, Mholi was frozen in place with a strange feeling in his chest. A sharp pain.
Betrayal? A lie? Whatever it was, his breathing was ragged as if he had asthma.
Noluvo quickly put on her white T-shirt and approached Mholi fearfully. Her trembling hands immediately grasped Mholi's hands.
"Mholi... No... It's... It's not what you think," Noluvo stammered with trembling lips.
Mholi's face suddenly paled and his knees went weak, he sat there with a tightness in his chest. "So... Muzi was right... You bewitched my mom..."
Noluvo burst into tears. "No, Mholi. I would never do that! I would never do such a cruel thing to you!"
"You... Witch..."
Noluvo grasped Mholi's hands tightly and looked into the teenage boy's eyes. Noluvo's eyes were teary and tears were flowing freely, but for some inexplicable reason, Mholi could see that the girl's eyes did not show the slightest lie.
Noluvo who was still crying could only hope that Mholi would hear her. "Mholi, please believe me. You and your mother are being bewitched by someone else. I..." Noluvo hesitated for a moment because she felt her words would make Mholi hate her, she didn't want that. But at the same time, she could not shut out the truth.
Noluvo took a deep breath and mentally prepared herself. "I am a witch... But I'm not doing any magic to harm you. I just knew that someone was trying to bewitch you and your mother... And I... Every day... I tried to ward off the magic, but I couldn't ward it off completely. I'm sorry, I'm not strong enough..."
Noluvo looked down for a moment. "I wasn't strong enough to prevent your mother from getting sick..."
A big smile suddenly spread across her face, which was now cheerful and full of optimism. "But there's no need to worry! You and your mother won't die, I managed to minimize the effects. You and your mother are safe!"
Mholi, who had been silent and listening, was now pensive. The information he was getting was too much, and too unbelievable. It was still difficult for him to process everything Noluvo had said.
Mholi made a sad face and looked at the girl in front of her. "How do I know you're not lying? How do I know you have no evil intentions?"
Noluvo almost cried again and she just forced a faint smile. She suddenly handed him a bracelet made of red beads and managed to make Mholi surprised, because it had one meaning...
Mholi looked at the red beads bracelet and then at Noluvo's face who smiled so sincerely.
"Nolu... You..."
"Yes... Ever since we met... I..." Although a bit embarrassed she managed to said it. "I would never hurt the man I love..."
"Nolu..."
*Bhuk!
Noluvo was suddenly lying on the floor as someone pushed and forced the girl into submission.
Mholi finally realized that his house was now entered and surrounded by angry people shouting the same word.
Igqwirha!
Witch!
A panicked Mholi looked around and found many angry-looking grown men who were now carrying Noluvo out.
"No! Wait! Wait! She's innocent!" shouted Mholi, who was pushed out by the crowd.
The teenage boy could see from the distance, Noluvo being lifted and tied to a pole. And there was only one punishment for witches in the region...
Burned alive...
"No! Wait! Nolu!" shouted Mholi as he tried to reach the girl, but the dense crowd pushed him away.
Just as he was about to lose hope, he suddenly saw something strange in the dark sky that slowly turned into a bright sky.
Mholi saw three objects that looked like giant iron disks floating in the sky.
After awhile, several waves radiated out from the three giant disks.
Waves that made everyone feel an incredible pain in their heads. It was like being hit by a hammer right into the brain followed by a feeling of nausea and dizziness that made anyone fall down and lie on the ground.
[ Ding! ]
[ Congratulations! You have been chosen! ]
Mholi's head was suddenly filled with a strange voice. It was as if someone was whispering directly into his brain.
"Chosen? What does that mean?" Mholi didn't understand everything the voice inside his head was saying.
[ You got Tamer system! ]
[ Readjust The DNA.... ]
[ Mind Configuration.... ]
[ Final Adjustment.... ]
[ System successfully installed.... ]
[ Tamer System Activated. ]
"Huh?!"
Mholi had no idea what was going on, but he had one more important thing at the moment than the voice inside his head. The teenage boy stood up to find several people looking the same as him, confused. They looked like they were arguing with themselves.
But that wasn't the important thing, the important thing was...
"Nolu--"
Nolu disappeared. The girl had broken free of her bonds. The girl managed to escape while everyone was in pain from the sudden wave.